


Nothing to See Here

by GretchenSinister



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-30 19:39:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18321815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: Original Prompt: "I keep running into stories and prompts where Jamie stops believing as he grows older and it’s a huge deal, or where Jamie keeps believing as he grows older and it’s a huge deal, and I think they’re great, but the same thing over and over is a little tiring.So, let’s run with the opposite: Jamie still believes when he’s grown up, and he can still see the Guardians, but there’s a slight problem. The Guardians are the Guardians of children, not adults. Even if someone keeps believing, they simply don’t register to the Guardians as important.To give an example of what I’m thinking, Jamie, age twenty-something, is walking through a park and sees Jack having a snowball fight with some kids and joins in. Afterwards, Jack makes a remark that makes it absolutely clear that while he thinks it’s nifty an adult can see him there is a complete disconnect in his mind between Jamie-the-weird-adult and Jamie-my-first/best/favorite-believer...[cut for length]"A small part of my answer to “where are the adults when all these kids are running around?”





	Nothing to See Here

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 1/21/2015.

Jack didn’t come to Jamie’s window the first night he was back home on Christmas break from college, the way he had for the past two years. Jamie missed him, but it was easy enough to explain. His finals had run late this year, and so the first snow had already fallen by the time he had returned. Jack’s previous visits had no doubt been related to the first snow, rather than Jamie’s return. And, in any case, Jack had to still be around, for the snow was more beautiful in Burgess than it had been anywhere along his drive.  
  
The next day, Jamie wrapped up against the cold and left his house for a long, looping walk past the park, the empty lots, and the pond. Kids would be out playing today, and Jack would likely be with them. It would be fun for him to be the one to surprise Jack this year.  
  
*  
  
The park was full of kids, but most of them were very young and were being carefully watched by their parents. And while they all looked cute in their fluffy little snowsuits, they weren’t really old enough for the kind of games Jack really loved. Jamie told himself that it wasn’t a problem that he didn’t see Jack there. He still had more places to look. Even if the park had been full of kids the right age, Jack had to pay attention to more places than Burgess.  
  
Jamie shoved his gloved hands into his pockets and set off toward the empty lots.  
  
Could he be too old to see Jack? But he still believed, wasn’t that enough? He could see him last year, and it didn’t feel like enough had changed in him to lose Jack. But how would he know if he had? The world was huge. Lots of kids who loved the snow and believed in Jack Frost never saw him at all.  
  
But he was Jack’s first believer. That had to make a difference. It had to.  
  
When he got to the empty lots–remnants of a stalled construction project that had only gotten as far as leveling the ground, leaving a huge hill of earth behind–he saw the perfect place for Jack. Snow everywhere, a sledding hill, and lots and lots of kids, with no adults around. It seemed almost impossible, that kids would still be allowed to run around unsupervised like this, and he smiled. Impossible, but so was Jack.  
  
As if with that thought, he finally, finally saw Jack, leaping and flying through the games of the kids, so obvious that Jamie wasn’t sure how he hadn’t seen him before.  
  
He drew breath to call Jack’s name, but before he could do so, Jack turned, and looked straight at him. Jack’s eyes widened, and his mouth seemed to say “whoa” and Jamie’s smile grew even bigger–but only for a moment before falling. Jack hadn’t smiled back. Jack wasn’t approached him. Jack…  
  
Jamie shivered, and not just because of the cold. He knew all the kids were still there, but he felt as though he could barely see them. He could barely see them, and it no longer seemed remarkable that they were unsupervised.  _Nothing to see here,_  his mind insisted. But there was. Of course there was. There was Jack.   
  
Jack, perched on his staff, not caring that Jamie was looking directly at him. Jack, looking as serious as he ever had. Jack, waiting for him to go away and leave the kids to their fun and freedom.  
  
So it was Jack that couldn’t see Jamie.  
  
As he walked back through town, it seemed too small to have ever been a cosmic battleground. And maybe it was, if he was the one looking at it. Maybe it would hurt it if he could see that, if he could know that. Maybe he shouldn’t see anymore. Maybe he needed to believe instead of know, again.   
  
He rubbed his hand over the stubble on his face. He didn’t look at the pond when he returned home. Even if Jack might be able to recognize him there, he didn’t want to see it small.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments from Tumblr:
> 
> bowlingforgerbils said: Ouch. This was depressing in a very realistic way.


End file.
